Saturday 12th March 2016 – 550.67 miles

We were packed and ready to walk by 7am.

An early morning walker came by and we chatted for a while. Bruce lives in Australia and has just accompanied his mum-in-law back home to England from her recent visit. He wished us luck – thanks Bruce.
The towpath is still muddy in places but getting better every day.

For several miles the canal was elevated high above the River Weaver and wound it’s way through pleasant countryside.
We seem to be bringing the Spring with us as we walk northwards.

Daffodils, snowdrops and primroses have been just coming into bloom all along the way from Cornwall – yes, the daffodils were coming into flower there in January. Such a pleasure.
Our journey along the Trent and Mersey Canal came to an end just after we reached Preston Brook where we turned onto the Bridgewater Canal which took us towards Runcorn.

We ran out of water and a kind man topped up our water bottles for us – thanks.
Three cyclists stopped to ask about our walk. Richard, Pauline and Mike gave us information about getting to the Runcorn Bridge and that there is a pub on the other side – thanks all and hope you enjoyed your day.
Met Chloe near Runcorn who gave us a donation – thanks Chloe and lovely to meet the young ones too – Mea, Tyler, Maddison, Alfie and Carl.

Waterloo Bridge marked the end of our walk along the Bridgewater Canal.

We then made our way across the busy Runcorn Bridge then down to the Mersey Hotel for a beer.

Dave met some lovely people outside the pub who all donated – Barbara Smith, “Flute and Toot”, Sadie and Sharon. Thanks to all of you. We were unable to find somewhere to pitch our tent so we walked on along the Trans-Pennine Way towards Liverpool.
Easy walking along the bank of the Mersey.

We met some lovely people out walking – Dave and Norma and their dog Poppy and Jimmy and Jed with their dogs Ghost and Buggsy. Thanks for your words of encouragement and great to meet you all.

Have camped for the night just off the path. Picnic table and woodland covered in snowdrops – perfect!